Author Information
Family Meeting in the Principals Office
Folder:
Margot Mountain of papers on his desk
Knick knacks
A cat-a-day calendar
Memo’s on post its
His walls have pictures
Of himself as a young football player
Beaming at the camera
And awards
And diplomas
My grandmother is sitting
Along with the councilor
Someone puts their hand on my shoulder
Has someone died?
Grandma speaks first
"Margot..."
The tone in her voice makes me nervous
"Your mother got behind the wheel
After too many drinks"
I fear for the worst
I see my mother, in a coma
A vegetable
Or a body in the morgue
"She wrapped her car around a tree
She spent the night in jail"
A person gets three strikes
They let you off with a warning
Probation
Thirty days in jail
But the third time,
You are unfit for society
And they send you away
For a second I think
This might be worse than if she had died
Am I going to hell?
